Trustees of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (NSW) v Maxwell James Kear as administrator of the estate of Anthony John Kear

The Society of St Vincent de Paul, as the employer, contested a decision by an arbitrator which found that their employee, Anthony John Kear, had suffered a compensable injury at work. The injury arose from a motor scooter accident on the way to work, which the employer contested as being a journey to which section 10 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 applied. The dispute also involved whether Anthony had suffered a personal injury, and whether this included shock or elevated blood pressure, neither of which were supported by evidence. The case was heard in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The legal issues centred on whether Anthony's injuries were compensable under section 10 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and whether they constituted a personal injury. The Court examined whether Anthony's alleged shock or elevated blood pressure were injuries that could be claimed under the Act. The Court found that there was insufficient evidence to support a claim of personal injury.

The Court of Appeal overturned the lower court’s decision, holding that Anthony’s injuries were not compensable under section 10 of the Act because they did not occur on a journey to which that section applied. The Court emphasised the need for concrete evidence of injury, finding that the claims of shock and elevated blood pressure lacked substantiation. The Court confirmed the arbitrator’s finding on the first two paragraphs but annulled the remaining paragraphs and made new orders. The Court granted leave to appeal and ordered that the employer was to be awarded the costs, with an additional 30 per cent uplift for the complexity of the matter. Each party was also ordered to bear their own costs for the appeal.